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THE SCENE: Kate Alexander and David Daniels hosted a night of drinks and entertainment to celebrate Acting Up Stage Company

THE SCENE: Kate Alexander and David Daniels hosted a night of drinks and entertainment to celebrate Acting Up Stage Company

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Norman Jewison, Barbara Amiel having a brief conversation in between songs (Image: David Pike)

Earlier this week, Kate Alexander and David Daniels opened the doors of their contemporary Casa Loma residence to an intimate crowd of 200 guests for an evening dedicated to the Acting Up Stage Company. As executive producer of the company, Daniels hoped to use the event to give patrons a taste of the company’s work by staging a series of performances from Both Sides Now—a musical featuring songs by Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. “I want tonight to give you shivers down your spine in the way only music can,” exclaimed artistic producer Mitchell Marcus, who greeted guests in the front foyer. Among the crowd were Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall (in town for Private Lives), director Norman Jewison, Barbara Amiel, actor Don McKellar and musical guests Arlene Duncan (Little Mosque on the Prairie), Marcus Nance and Bruce Dow.

The cozy gathering began with casual hors d’oeuvres catered by À La Carte Kitchens, followed by a concert in the downstairs ballroom. Vintage stage lights were scattered among contemporary furnishings and collectibles, giving the home an overall theatrical vibe. Prior to the performance, Marcus gave a brief history of the Acting Up Stage Company, emphasizing outreach programs like One Song Glory, which provides free musical theatre training for youth. Guests were presented with the theatre’s three-year plan for growth and given the opportunity to say,  “I was there at the beginning” (in other words, we need your support now).

The concert that followed did exactly what Marcus had promised: it left us tingling. Sara Farb’s jazzy rendition of Mitchell’s “Chelsea Morning” gave us chills that only intensified with Duncan’s soulful “Ain’t No Cure for Love” and Amanda LeBlanc’s heart-wrenching “A Case of You.” Dow, a Stratford favourite, closed the show with the title song “Both Sides Now,” which had the crowd on their feet in a standing ovation. As guests headed back upstairs for a final glass of wine, the band played “Big Yellow Taxi Cab,” which we took as a cue to leave.

Topics: Acting Up Stage Company Arlene Duncan art patrons Bruce Dow David Daniels Don McKellar fundraising Kate Alexander Marcus Nance Norman Jewison People Toronto

2 thoughts on “THE SCENE: Kate Alexander and David Daniels hosted a night of drinks and entertainment to celebrate Acting Up Stage Company”

  1. While it’s an interesting idea to say that guests were given the opportunity to say that they were ‘there at the beginning’, it isn’t factual. Acting Up has been around for six or seven years, producing shows and providing contemporary musical theatre. I hope that some of these individuals offer their support, but it’s hardly the beginning of the company.

    Also, “Both Sides Now” isn’t a musical. It was a concert production by Acting Up last spring.

  2. I’m going to take the low road here and be superficial. I think Kim Cattrall looks amazing! I commend her on not ruining her face like Barbara Amiel. What confuses me is that if you looked beautiful before surgery, you’re supposed to look beautiful after. Amiel was an incredible beauty, so not sure what went wrong with her plastic surgery. I have no objections to plastic surgery in moderation and if Kim goes that way too, that’s fine. She works in a world as superficial as they come, so it might be a matter of income, although I’m sure she socked away enough from SATC that she has nothing to worry about. Also, she looks very natural in these photos, like she has minimal make up on. Again, nothing wrong with make up, but I think she looks great with less.

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